When Factions Collide

Chapter 4

I sprung up from the table, suddenly very eager to start training. If I was one of Theo's favourites, then maybe I would survive initiation, not get kicked out, and not have to go back home or become factionless if the Abnegation didn't accept me. I could be one of them, Dauntless. Isaac followed me out as I started walking to the training room, and I heard the rest follow us. I chose this time, while we were ahead of them, to ask Isaac a few things.

"Seems like Theo isn't the only one taking an interest in me. What makes me so special to you, Abnegation boy?" I smirked at him, flipping my hair nonchalantly. This new personality was taking on too easily, I blamed being Divergent.

"Me? No, no. I don't think of it as an interest. I want to be friends with you, show you around, get you used to everything. I also feel like I can be real around you, you knew my culture."

"That sounds like an interest to me." I clarified. Of course I didn't want to start anything with him, I was not looking for that.

"Oh, I thought you meant..."

"No, I meant why do I fascinate you. You just seemed to have wanted to talk to me since the first time we met."
"You seemed...not Abnegation from the start. I can tell that's true now. I like it, I was never like that. I was always really reserved until I met Theo. We became friends after I was initiated."
"Wait, you mean you're not in the same year?"

"No, we were. But I just never talked to him."

"How many were in your group?" Isaac opened the door and I walked in, seeing guns and targets lined up.

"Twelve." I heard a voice behind me.

"Oh, Theo. Hey," I don't know why I was being so bashful, probably because I didn't want to mess anything up.

"Hey, Wren." He smiled and clapped a hand on my shoulder. "There were twelve of us, since Isaac seems to be telling you our life story. Isaac, go get the rest of them."

"A few are coming down."

"Go back up and get the rest of them." Theo ordered. I could see who was the real one in charge. "Anyway," he continued after Isaac left, "Isaac and I were never in the same group of friends when it came to initiation. In fact, we hated each other. I was basically the one who focused more on training than on friends. He, on the other hand, was reserved, but people wanted him to talk, and talk he did. So much that he just shed the Abnegation part of him, and led on the full Dauntless. Can't say when we decided to stop hating and become friends, but I'm glad we did. He's one of the best I have."

"You both aren't just trying to use me to get me to open up about Abnegation, are you?"

"Use you? What? Wren, if I really wanted to use you, I would be seducing you as much as possible." He joked, flashing his teeth in my direction. "No, I found you interesting at the test. You're Divergent, and from Abnegation. Sound like anyone?"

"Tris Prior."

"I want to keep an eye on you," he nodded, "But I also don't want to see you fail. I like seeing you..." he paused and cleared his throat, "I like seeing the Dauntless in you after I saw what Abnegation you had at the test. And it wasn't much, which is why I like seeing you expand your horizons. Welcome to Dauntless, home of the brave." he said as he set up the final gun, looking at the door, expecting people to come in.

"Come in, and Theo will tell you what to do." Isaac walked the rest of the group in.

"Wren!" Mels came over and stood on one side of me, talking about what happened when Isaac and I were coming down. "And Adam would not stop staring at you, I could have almost sworn he was jealous, of course, Isaac doesn't really have a thing for you and-"

"Candor. Shut it. I'm trying to save your life in the future. Quit distracting those who want to live," Theo said, looking at me.

"Rude." she whispered at me.

"Where is Adam?" I noticed he wasn't there when Payton and Mels came in.

"Bathroom I think, or he had to go put something on. Not sure. Oh! There he is!"

"Amity, why are you late?" Theo was on point as soon as Isaac closed the door behind him.

"Sorry, just getting different shoes." he said apologetically.

"Don't let it happen again." he glared at Adam, who stood in close proximity next to me.

"Ohh someone else is jealous too." Mels nudged me.

We got the instructions, and were told to pick up a gun and start shooting. I had never held one, and the one in the simulation was just that; a simulation. I picked one up, and knelt in between Adam and Mels and they started to hit the target. When they had shot ten bullets each, I had shot about four.

"Pick up the pace, Abnegation." Isaac was the one chastising me, obviously trying to push me, probably like he had been pushed by his leader. I wonder who his trainer was, maybe Peter.

"Just aim, and focus. Then pull the trigger." Payton was the perfect shot, both the Erudite girls were. Mels was precise, but not accurate, and Adam could get a couple bullets here and there, but no pattern on the target. The one Erudite girl, Caroline, who I saw sitting by herself, was the best shot of them all.

I finally got the hang of it and started shooting better, but still not as fast. The others were knocking out bullets and hitting the target, while I was the one holding us up and even though I hit the target pretty well, I still needed to speed up. Our group worked on it for about two hours before we moved to the next part of physical training.

"What you need to remember about hand to hand combat is your strength. Not your physical strength, but where your best shots are at. Look for the other person's weaknesses. Use them to your advantage. Maybe you'll get out alive. Start training. Let's go!"

Again, I had no muscle, so I wasn't as good. Being lean was better than being petite, like Payton, but I wasn't Isaac either. I would have to rely on speed and technique, which hopefully I could master. I started at the punching bag, trying to warm up my arms, hopefully tone them. Obviously I wasn't doing it right because Theo kept looking at me with a criticizing look on his face.

"Don't worry about the strength part of it." Isaac took my shoulders and stopped me. "Try to think about the bag as a body. Where would the weakest spots be? Hit there, and be quick with it, and your jabs will pack more of a punch."

I nodded at him and kept going. Sure enough, not only did I actually move the punching bag a little, I was starting to feel a burn where muscle would soon be forming, what I didn't feel before. I looked over, and Mels was trying to show off her strength, which, for a Candor, she had more of than I did. Payton was quick but she was trying to use more brute force. Adam was the strongest out of our group, mostly from being a guy, but also because he told me he had to work on the farms, which required a lot of muscle to do as well. He was able to execute the punches with brute force, and he got somewhere with it, unlike Payton.

"Stop." Theo shouted above the sound of punches, "Break for lunch. Be back in here in an hour to start hand to hand combat."

Mels and Payton stood by the door waiting for me, but I was waiting for Isaac. Adam saw that, and went to go talk to Erudite girl instead. I thought that was nice, but then I remembered he was Amity. Of course he was nice.

Isaac looked at me and smiled, jogging over to walk up to lunch. I noticed Theo was still here, not bothering to come over, instead wrapping his wrist and going to a punching bag.

"Is he not joining us?"

"Nah, he said he wanted to brush up on a few skills. Let him be." Isaac escorted us out.

Lunch was a nice break, but everyone was so tired that all they did was eat and sit, there wasn't much talking. I had some bread and water, pure Abnegation, but also I didn't want to stuff myself for the hand to hand combat.

"Probably a good idea, but get some protein too." he pointed to the chicken that was there. I took a leg and started eating, making sure not to fill myself up too much.

An hour passed quickly, and once again, I was the first one down there; Isaac let me go ahead while he got the other initiates. I walked in to see Theo still punching the bag, not stopping until I was about half way over to him.

"Ready?" he asked me, pointing to the rink.

"Not really, what if I'm not good enough? I'm not strong."

"Wren," he came over and slid a hand from my shoulder to my arm, almost stroking it in a comforting action, "it's your first day. It's not going to be something that makes or breaks your Dauntless career. You'll be fine. Trust me, under Peter, Isaac and I, Dauntless values are not like how they used to be. It's real now, not just some Erudite plot twist. I promise." he smiled at me and stood in the centre of the rink as the rest of them came in. He had such good timing, but I still felt where his hands lingered on me, wishing it had been longer for some reason. I was starting to enjoy the more friendly affection I was getting, being so deprived in Abnegation.

"What's next?" Mels asked Theo.

"Still no filter, I see. We'll fix it, you'll soon learn to respect your elders. Now we're going to start training you to fight with each other. You'll see a chart here, and there's ten of you, meaning three fights before practicing technique again. After that, two more fights, and you'll be dismissed for dinner."

It was one o'clock now, that meant five more hours. Each fight was supposed to last about five to ten minutes. We weren't supposed to kick each other down as much as practice dodging and technique, it was all about the speed.

"Mels and Payton, you're up."

"You've got to be kidding me." Mels looked at her with a sympathetic look on her face.

I stood with Adam, who stood next to Caroline. It was weird, she didn't like me, I could tell. She kept trying to get near him, and he towards me. I felt like the end of a trainwreck, and the feeling in my stomach didn't get any better as I saw my two friends fighting each other, trying to be gentle.

"Come on, don't be kind. She'll forgive you." he said to Mels. Payton was slowly becoming merciless, and she aimed a low jab in the gut, which stuck. Mels went down for a minute, and I looked away. Adam put his arm over my shoulder, bringing me in close. I reciprocated, hanging on to him, mostly out of the need for comfort. This was an uncomfortable thing to watch, but the look Theo gave me as soon as he saw what was happening was even worse.

Mels was down in about fifteen minutes, putting up a fight but then slowly giving up. Honestly, I thought that she would win. I assumed Payton would get tired in the first few minutes, but the fight lasted a while.

"Get up, both of you. Payton wins. Next up, Wren versus Adam."

"What?" I yelled, going over to Isaac.

"I cannot possibly beat him. He's too strong."

"But you're lean and you're fast. Try it. I have faith." I scowled in response and climbed into the rink.

"I'm sorry," Adam said to me, but I aimed a jab at his side as soon as he said it. He dodged fairly quickly, leaving me to only graze his shirt, which didn't do any harm.

I was faster, I had that on him, but he side-swept my leg from under me, which I didn't think about, only focusing on the upper half of the body. Caroline giggled at my mistake. No, she did not like me. And that's when the rage set in.

I jumped back up and punched him square in the jaw, doing more damage than I had last time. I felt guilty, I was taking out my anger on the girl on him, but I had to do something. He tried to overtake me, but I ducked and pivoted to the other side, getting a good kick in the back which knocked him over. I heard Isaac whisper something to Theo, who looked back at me and at him and smiled.

My anger was starting to overtake me as I felt my speed increase, as well as my endurance. But as well with mine, so was his. It was fifteen minutes into the fight, and both of us only had one good shot in.

"Adam, she's Abnegation, you can beat her and send her away." Caroline said. Mels shot her a look and was about to go over and slap her had Isaac not told her to be quiet.

That statement enraged me, and I got a kick to the gut, which sent him backwards. I measured up to him and started stalking him, as one would their prey, and I got an uppercut and a good smack to the face. He was down in about a minute, his lip split and starting to bleed.

"Wren, I think you won." Payton said, trying to get me to stop. I kept advancing on him as he tried to crawl away, almost afraid of me. No, I would not be stopped. This girl and him were talking, and she was trying to get me out of Dauntless. In my mind, talking to her made him an accomplice.

"I give. You win, Wren." he croaked, tears leaking out of his eyes in pain. Emotional or physical, I could not tell.

It was then that I snapped out of it and saw the damage I had done. I looked at him, blood trickling down his lip, and exited the rink. I felt the back of my head from when he knocked me over, only to feel a bruise starting to form. The rest of the initiates looked at me, like I was some sort of monster. Isaac called the next two, a boy from Candor and one from Erudite.

"Not a concussion, right?" Theo came up to me, putting his hands on my shoulders, almost giving me a massage. He leaned next to my ear, "Are you alright? What happened?"

"Nothing," I lied and shook my head. I wasn't sure what happened myself, there was no need to worry Theo about it.

"If you want to talk, we can talk after dinner. I want to get to know you anyway." he turned around and gave me a worried sort of smile, going back to watch the fight, letting me rest.

"What's up?" Isaac came over with Mels and Payton and sat down as the next two, a boy from Erudite and a boy from Candor, fought.
"I just beat up one of my friends and I got angry."

"Oooh you felt something bad." Mels said. Isaac and Payton shot her a look.

"She's from Abnegation. They're taught not to feel anything, especially not contempt." Payton reasoned out to the Candor.

"Who upset you?"

"That girl, Caroline, she doesn't like me and she wants me out."
"So?"

"So, I can't leave. If I get kicked out, I become factionless."

"So be better than her. I've seen you do it. If anything, she'll be the one kicked out. Don't worry about her." Payton said to me, reassuring me.

The other fight lasted another fifteen minutes before Theo gave us a fifteen minute water break before training again. Caroline was over with Adam consoling him, which made me see red again. I don't know what I did to make her hate me, but whatever it was, I hope I didn't get kicked out because of it. I was just trying to calm down before practicing again, now I wasn't even sure of who I was. But then, this was a new faction, a new life, and I was a new person. Maybe this was me. Maybe this is how I'm supposed to be. Hopefully Theo didn't hate me for it.

After training, we all walked to dinner. Isaac was with Mels and Payton, giving Theo and I time to talk. I think that's what the two may have been talking about during my fight. Theo seemed very friendly towards me, even after my aggression. Maybe he wasn't disgusted by me.

"Tell me what's up. That was quite Dauntless of you back there."

"It was nothing, I'm not even sure what happened to me."

"Wren," he stopped me and turned to face me, and I lowered my face in shame. He tilted my head back up. "Look at me. What's the problem? I'm worried about you. Ever since that fight and that girl, and," he clenched his teeth when he said it, "Adam," he breathed again, "you seem different. And it's only been a day."

"Theo, you don't hate me, do you?"

"What? No, Wren. How could I possibly hate you?"

"Because I'm different than the Abnegation girl you tested. In fact, I'm just different period."

"Just because you're Divergent? Just because you switched factions? Just because you're making a new life for yourself?" he looked down at me and pulled me closer. "Wren, I could never hate you. I'm not disgusted or repulsed by you. I don't care that you're not the girl I tested. In fact, I kind of like the new you. You're different, yeah. It's fascinating. But I am worried about you because I don't want to see you spiral down, and I do not," he shuddered as he grabbed my wrist tighter, "want to see your body found in that chasm. I want to see you succeed. But I also think Adam and that other girl of his are going to be a bad influence on you, they keep making you angry. Yes, I heard what she said. And I don't agree with her. Wren, I love the way you are, no matter what. And I see a good future for you. Let yourself be real for once. You don't have to act." he pulled me in for a hug. It was less awkward than the one with Adam.

"I want to learn more about you, though. I don't just want to be this open book." I told him. "Wait, I didn't just say that out loud, did I?"

"No harm done," he chuckled, "And I think that will be a good idea later in the future. Let's just get through the first day before you make a complete Dauntless transformation. By the way," he said as we walked into the Pit, "I think that you'll like tomorrow. Long distance running. We can start talking more then." And we parted ways.


AN: *Sigh* this is such a new territory, drama and friendship and feelings. I mean, with original characters it is. I'm really hoping you enjoy it, keep reading on, I'll be posting a lot! Of course, I plan on there being a lot to past, so there's that. This is gonna be looooonggggg so prepare for a cross country road trip!:P